In the eyes of pretty much everyone around football, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson has been benched. Through six games, he was 10th in the league in scrimmage yards and was the workhorse of the offense. After his fumble in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he didn’t play again. Then, against the San Francisco 49ers, he played only nine first-half snaps and got zero touches or targets. He didn’t play in the second half.
But Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury won’t say he’s been benched against the Niners.
“I wouldn’t use the term ‘benched,’” he told reporters Monday.
He said it was more about what Kenyan Drake was doing. He was the “hot hand.”
“We’re going to play the guy that we feel like gives us the best chance at that time,” he continued. “Game plans change, and roles will change. David is a part of this offense, and we have to find a way to make sure he’s playing at a high level, and we can get him the football.”
That said, his role has certainly changed. Rather being the focal part of the offense, he is now just a piece.
“David’s a very good football player, and we’ll try to put him in positions to be successful based upon the game plan week to week,” Kingsbury said.
Call it what you want — being benched, getting a more focused role in the offense or a committee of running backs — in the end, it is a demotion.
That isn’t to say it’s not the right move. Something is up with Johnson. Hopefully, after the bye week, he sees his role increase again and he is effective when he gets the ball.
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